Yerdle – A New Way To Reuse

 

Some Yerdle packages ready to go.

 
I recently stumbled upon a Facebook add for an app called Yerdle. I don’t remember what the post said, but it intrigued me enough for me to check it out. A week or so later, it’s basically my new favorite thing.

Yerdle aims to reduce consumption and waste by allowing people to give away their old stuff in exchange for fake dollars, or “Yerdle dollars,” with which they can purchase other items. You do have to pay shipping, so it’s a little more cost-effective if you can find multiple items from one person and ask them to bundle, which most don’t mind doing.

I’ve only gotten a couple items so far. The first giver, for whatever reason, didn’t ship, but Yerdle promptly refunded me. The second was friendly about bundling and shipped me an adorable dress and top, packaged well and in great condition. 

What I really love though, is having a way to get rid of my ill-fitting or unwanted clothes, and especially my old Etsy stock, knowing people actually want them. I’ve made a lot of items that I never managed to sell, and was shocked at how quickly they got snatched up.

The negatives for me are that it can take a lot of sifting to find what you want, prices can be wildly inconsistent between givers, and their chosen shipping service, UPS, is much less convenient for me to use than the postal service.

But you can use “wishes” to be notified when something you want is listed. Pricing, of course, is up to the giver, though there is a guideline of one Yerdle dollar to one US dollar. And if you become a pro member – 25 gives and a decent feedback rating – you can ship however you want. 

Honestly I would be pretty happy with the service just for the knowledge that my stuff is going somewhere. But if I can get some nice, practically free things for myself? Even better. 

So if you have some time and some potentially desirable clutter, and you like bargain shopping, check out yerdle.com or the Yerdle app! And no, they’re not compensating me, I just think it’s pretty great! 

Sculpey Bead Baking Rack Review/Tips

  

So I bought some extra supplies a few months back and did a couple craft haul posts – Part 1 and Part 2. Now I want to talk about one of those items specifically, the Bead Baking Rack. I opted for the cheaper Sculpey one rather than the Amaco brand, because I wanted to fit several other tools into my budget, and I have to say I am very pleased with this item for the price.

It comes in a deceptively small package with the pins nested inside the rack part. The nesting feature is very convenient for storage (I have mine standing up in a jar with my blades, ball tools, etc). The pins are pretty sharp and seem like a perfect thickness to me. They’re easy to use – I twist the pin as I’m piercing the bead to keep from distorting it. And with 12 pins, you can bake plenty of beads at once using both sides of the rack, and maybe even have some flat items underneath. 

I would say the only downside is having to place the rack on a separate tray to bake (or in my case a tile) which means you run the risk of the whole thing sliding off on its way in or out of the oven. This would be the advantage of the Amaco version, which is a rack and tray in one. But you could use a tray with sides to avoid the problem, and maybe start your project with the tray already in place so you don’t have to move everything.

This tool has definitely made my claying life easier. I barely made beads before, due to the difficulty in making nice uniform holes and baking without flat spots. Also I guess most of my ideas didn’t involve clay beads, but I’m pretty happy with the tulip-inspired ones shown above, in progress, and below, finished as convertible bracelet/necklaces. They are available in my Etsy Shop or on my Website. 

What do you use to make your beads turn out just right? Have you discovered any great clay tools to share? 

   
 

Art Shop Update

Birds on a Wire 5×7

I’ve just made my first few sales in my newer shop, Noelle Lewis Art, and thought I’d share a little more about where I’m going with it at the moment. I was starting to think that selling art online is not very realistic, compared to smaller, more usable items (my other shop sells jewelry). After all, who can afford stuff like that these days?  

But then I sold a print, a mini painting, and a small painting, and I realized maybe you can make art accessible to more people without undervaluing your work, simply by offering options like smaller sizes and reproductions. Of course I would love to sell my full-size pieces, and maybe someday I will. But I for now I am going to try to work on more prints and small-size options.

As far as the subject of the paintings, I’m working on a series inspired by North Carolina, specifically Fayetteville. It’s definitely not the prettiest town in this state, but I have unexpectedly fallen in love with this sky – the way the clouds are colored by the sunrise and sunset, and the way the trees are silhouetted against them – I feel like I could paint it every day (if I ever got around to it) and it would always be beautiful. Or I could take what I see and create something new. 

I’ve never really done a series before. Most of my paintings are landscapes, but from various locations, with the occasional floral/still life. So it might be nice to have a little bit of consistency in my work, and who knows, maybe next time we move I will have a completely different source of inspiration. 

You can check out my current collection on Etsy at noellelewisart.etsy.com, or through my website at http://www.noellelewisart.com (the shop page will now go to IndieMade, which I am trying for the month, instead of Storenvy. Apologies for any confusion). And as always, I am open to custom work!  

Silhouettes at Twilight, 11×14

  

Colors of Dawn, Mini/ACEO

 
 

Silhouettes at Sunrise, 11×14

  
 

Twilight Trees, Mini/ACEO